Method of electric welding



C. H. KICKLKGHTER.

METHOD OF ELECTRIC WELDING APPLICATION men xuLr'za, 1919.

1,367,552. Patented Feb. 8, 1921.

INVENTOR CHARLES H. KICKLIGHTER, OF ATLANTA, GEORGIA.

mn'rnon or nmc'rnrc wnnnmo.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 8, 1921.

Application tiled July 28, 1918. Serial No. 313,776.

To all'whomz'tma concern:

Be itknown t at I, Cmmnus H. KICK- mcn'mn, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Atlanta, in the county of Fulton and State of Georgia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Methods of Electric Welding, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to a method of o 1ning two plates or pieces of metal by lapping the edges thereof and b welding the edge of eac plate to the sur ace of the other by the application of pressure and heating elec tric current. The uniting of the plates along the edges thereof may be a direct fusion of the metal of the two plates or it ma be through the medium of an inter me iate metal strip to which both plates are fused i The invention also relates to a seam be- I tween metal plates in which the edges of the plates are welded each to'the surface of the other plate as above described. The invcn' tion moreover relates to metal work having 26.its elements united by such seams and in the anner described. The object of the invention is to afford an easy, simple and practical method of fastening metal plates or similar pieces of 80 metal b{ the electric welding process. In the elec ric welding of heavy commercial stock, I have foundthat while it is often difllcult to get a weld at a point removed from the edge of the plate by means 85' of pressure and heavy welding current of low voltage as that from the transformer ct a spot welding machine, I can obtain a good weld at the edge of a plate especially when a narrow strip or ribbon is used to 40 further restrict the area of weld and path of the current. The diflicult weld,

at a point removed mm the edge of Pa; plate is apparent. The rigidity and stillates prevent a concentration of 4 n the pressure and the limiting of the path oi current toa restricted area of contact between the two plates. Both the pressure and the flow of current between the plates disfdistributed over a relatively large area so of. contact;

fwBy applying the pressure at the edge of one of the plates there is less stiffness and as the edge is heated and yields" under the 555 ting current between the plates can be obtained to efiect a satisfactory .weld. A

in obtaining a.

re a sufficient concentration of flow of continuous weld can be effected either by a step by ste application of the terminals of a spot we] ing machine or by the applicatioln of heavy roller-contact welding-termina s.

I can concentrate thearea of pressure to a greater extent, limit the path of heating current more and obtain a more effective weld by introducing an intermediate strip between the plates at the edge of one of the plates.

This method is considered quite an improvement in the art. A continuous weld may thus be made much more efiiciently and in less time than can be accomplished in arc welding or gas welding. In both of these well known methods much time and expense are involved and expert workmen must be employed. In arc welding the dangerous high voltages must be handled.

igure 1. is a diagrammatic view, partially sectioned illustrating one application of the invention.

Fig. 2 illustrates the plates of Fig. 1 after the welding operation.

Fig. 3 illustrates a simplified application of the invention. 1

Fig. 4 illustrates the plates of Fig. 3 after the welding operation.

Referring to Figs. 1 and'2, the plates 1 and 2 are lapped, intermediate thin metal stri s 3-3 are introduced between the plates at t e edges thereof. By the application of welding terminals 45 the edges are subjected to pressure and heating electric current. These terminals may be those of an ordinary spot welding machine which it is not thought necessary herein to describe. The terminals are here shown flattened to afford a large area of contact.

As shown in Fig. 2 the stri s are fused to both plates at 6-6, softene and partiall squeezed from between thel plates at 7- until the plates come into contact.

The metallic strips 3-3 serve to concentrate the pressure between the plates and limit the path of flow of heating current. During the fusion or immediately thereafter the softened metal may be squeezed from between the plates sufiiciently to allow them to come into contact. The width of each strip 3-3 should'be equal to one half the thickness offa plate or a little more to glth. igs; 3 an 4, a lapis'formed provide the prolper stren Referring to p by bringing plates 1 and 2 .intocontact face to face By the application of welding terminals F -53 the parts are subjected to pressure and heating electric current. These terminals are applied oppositely first at the edge of one plate 1. and then at the edge of the other plate 2. The plates are fused at 6-6", just under the edge oi each plate as shown in Fig. 4. The top edges of the plates are crushed down some and the metal forced out some at the bottom as at 7--7. It is preferable to make the welding terminals slightly self adjusting that they may conform to the yielding surface of the outer ed es of the plates.

n the illustrations it is supposed that the terminals of a spot welding machine are applied in a step by step process. However it will be seen that heavy roller contacts may he used instead and may he found preferable in some cases The operation is apparent.

Plates 1 and 2 (or 1",) are brought into proper juxtaposition will] strips or projections 31. which may be omitted as in Fig. 3. The assembled parts are subjected to pressure and electric heat ing current at the edge of one or more plates or metal pioics so as to concentrate the pressure and the heating current between the dates at a position where the stiffness of the plates will not interfere ma terially with their yielding. The plates are fused to each other or through the intermediate strips and the metal. partially squeezed out till the plates come into contact.

What I claim is:

1. The method of fastening two metal plates together, face to face, which consists of overlapping their edges, with a narrow strip of metal between each edge and the juxtaposed surface of the other plate, and b the application of pressure and heating ellactric current of welding the assembled parts and of forcing the plates into immeiate contact. p

2. The method of fastening two metal plates together, face to face,which consists of overlapping their edges with a thin narrow strip of metal between the edge of one plate and the juxtaposed surface of the other plate, and by the application of pres sure and heating electric current of welding the assembled parts so as to form a continuous seam.

3. The method of fastening two pieces of metal, face to face, which consists of overla )ping their edges with a strip of metal etween the extreme edge of one piece of metal and the juxtaposed surface of the other, and by the application of pressure and heating electric current of welding the assembled parts and of squeezing a sufficient part of the fused strip out so asto allow intwlnediatc the pieces of metal to come into immediate contact.

4. A seam between two metal plates with overlapped edges, having two strips of metal therehetween, each strip being welded on one side to one plate under the extreme edge thereof and on the other side to the juxtaposed surface of the other plate.

A. seam between two pieces of metal brought face to face with overlappin edges, and having a narrow strip of meta therehetwcen welded on one side to one piece under extreme edge thereof and on the other side to the juxtaposed surface of the other piece.

6. Composite metal work, having its elements united by a metallic stri located between the elements and welde on one side to one element under the extreme edge thereof and welded on the other side to the juxtaposed surface of the other element.

7. The method of fastening two pie'ces of metal together, which consists of overlapping their edges, and of uniting the pieces by two continuous plication of pressure and heating electric current so as to weld the surface at the extreme edge of. each piece to the juxtaposed face of the other piece.

8. The method of fastening two metal plates together, face to face, which consists of overlapping their edges, and'by the application of pressure and heating electric current of uniting them along their extreme edges in two continuous welds which are distinct and are separated by areas of unweldi :1 contacting surfaces.

9. The method of fastening two ieces of metal together, which consists of ringin them into juxtaposition with overlap e edges, and of welding the surface in the 1minediate vicinity of the edge of one piece to the face of the other by concentrating mechanical pressure directly over and u on said edge where the plate is most fieXIble and by passing therethrough heating electric current.

10. The method of fastenin two metal plates together, face to face, w ich consists of overlapping their edges and of welding the surface under the ed e of each to the juxtaposed face of the other by the application of pressure and heating electric current directly upon said edges respectively, so as to concentrate the ressure between the plates to a narrow path and to restrict the passage of welding current to a limited area along the ed es.

11. The metho of fastening two pieces of metal together,

which consists of bringing them into juxtaposition with overlapped edges, and of welding the surface under the edge of one to the face of the other by the application of pressure and heating electric parallel welds by the ap-.

memes a current directly above ami upon said edge scribing witnesses at Atlanta in the county 80 as to concentrate the -ressure between of- Fulton and State of Georgia this 21 day the plates to a narrow at and to restrict of July 1919. the passage of the we ding current to a bHARLES H. KICKLIGHTER. 5 limited area along said ed e. Witnesses:

In testimony whereof, have hereunto S. C. MORGAN, signed my name in the presence of twosub- K. C. Mum. 

